Can ancient Indian culture and social traditions provide answers to modern-day maladies?

Ancient Indian arts are born in the loka (world). They breathe and evolve in the loka, adapt, and adopt to the changing environment, decay, and die, giving birth to new forms. Unlike the West, which divides its arts into periods, our arts reveal a process of ‘continuity’ because they are living and breathing expressions of human beings, their reactions, sorrows and joys.

Our social customs and traditions were based on honesty, love, respect, and gratitude. The continuity of which is even today visible in the worship of the sun, moon, trees, rivers, mountains and animals. 

The rampant cutting of trees, depleting forests, drying rivers, and vanishing mountain ranges, all in the name of growth, development, and modernisation have resulted in changing the ecology, the disappearance of many species of animals, birds, plants and likewise, resulting in pollution. The use of excessive chemicals, plastics and the unpardonable dependence on technology, artificial intelligence, and mobile – have made people dependent and lonely. This has resulted in unwanted stresses, traumas, diseases and infirmities!

The Key Elements 

Interrelatedness and interdependence: The beauty of Indian arts and culture is that they teach us the value of interrelatedness and interdependence while maintaining balance and autonomy. Indian arts are a beautiful expression of the philosophy of life. There is no subject under the sun which is not portrayed in our art. The ardhanarishvara (half male and half female) images of the deities Shiva and Parvati, is self-expressive. The message is clear and straight. Life is a beautiful balance between the two energies – the male and the female. The female is the shakti (strength) of the purusha ( spirit, self ) with mutual respect! 

Value, love, respect each other and the planet: Our arts mirror life, in its various shades and perspectives. The message that Indian arts and culture give us is that, we are all nayakas (male lead) and nayikas ( female lead), whichever age group we are in. We should realise that each role is important in its own way. The entire universe is made of the same five elements - air, water, earth, fire and space and we are no exceptions. We must learn to respect, love, and value each other and the planet, to maintain an ecological balance.  Disrespect and superiority complexes have only created problems and difficulties for us. The creation is the artistic expression of Brahma (the creator), which can only be experienced – there are no barriers and no restrictions. Mutual love, respect, and support for each other is the core. 

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Inclusiveness vs individualism: The one word that is much in ‘vogue’ and is perhaps a gift of modern thinking and lifestyles, imported from developed nations and societies is ‘stress.’ The word comes in many shades and colours: pressure, strain, tensions, worries, anxiety, hassles, depression, and trauma simultaneously bringing with it, a spurt in a class of newly incarnated mystics, godmen, spiritual gurus, motivational speakers, life and wellness coaches and centres, retreats, workshops etc. promising and assuring us health, peace, happiness with the application of methods and ideologies. This has been an integral and intrinsic part of our everyday life, enshrined as tenants in our systems of yoga, ayurveda, dhavani (sounds) and the arts. The beauty and the effectiveness of these systems was that they were strongly and deeply grooved in the gyana (wisdom) of the loka i.e., they were for the betterment of mankind, samashti (inclusiveness) as against vyashti (individualism), was the motto.  

Subjective and objective coalesce: For centuries man has been expressing and perpetuating his experiences in many ways. Inspired or motivated; defeated or dejected, mankind was always trying to express, say, narrate and share in many ways art, culture and tradition. One reason is, to leave a learning lesson for the coming generations. The genius of the Indian mind overcame the difficulties by fusing the unique, personal experiences with the broader consciousness that permeates everything and manifests as nature and energy. The creative mind was fully aware of the flaws and inconsistencies of human nature. The entire process was miraculous in that it transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary through the use of colours, sound, and the magic of lines, dots, circles, and triangles, which took both the artist and the audience members to a transcendental level of "out of this world experience" (sat chit anand or nature of reality as conceptualised in yogic philosophy)! 

Our arts' beauty comes from their dual functioning on the metaphysical (or spiritual) and physical (or earthly) levels. The idea of the Absolute, which is the origin of all goodness and has unparalleled beauty that can only be realised at the level of transcendence, has been underlined by our loka (world)- sanskriti (culture) since the beginning of time. While the artist reaches the point where the subjective and the objective merge into a single blissful experience as a result of the sounds and vibrations that trigger bodily secretions. This is done through the intelligent integration of sounds, symbols, gestures, posture, sthanakas (standing pose), colours, and abhinaya (art of expression). Actors, artists, painters, vocalists, and instrumentalists all unintentionally gave themselves completely in those brief moments and realise this state of tadatma or ‘oneness,’ and it is in this state that the entire experience breaks boundaries to become universal! 

In this state of ananda or bliss, there is no place for stress, pain, sufferings! The element of creativity in our traditional systems provided the fodder for happiness and joy, leading towards a healthy robust life. 

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) 

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